Classical

Sound

Good points

But

Full test

Review

A pair of portable headphones, which can be used with a cable or wirelessly through a Bluetooth connection. They’re powered by a built-in battery and have controls on the earcups themselves.

They have “brilliant” sound. The tone is sweet and smooth with a distinct bass and lashings of detail. They’re particularly good when you’re listening to jazz, but they can handle rock, pop, classical and country in style as well. If we’re being picky they lack a little sparkle at the top-end, but you’d really be hard pushed to complain.

The SoundLinks are light and a good fit for most heads. The earcups fold up neatly inside the headband for carrying, and it’s easy to set-up a bluetooth connection with your tablet or smartphone. These headphones leak hardly any sound in or out, which is good if you’re travelling on public transport or listening quietly at home. They have two built-in microphones, which let you make or take calls without distracting background noise.

How we test

Noise-cancelling models

Overall score includes:

Sound (50%)
Comfort (30%)
Noise-cancelling (10%)
Durability (10%)

Other scores don’t count towards the overall score.

Non-noise-cancelling models

Overall score includes:
Sound (60%)
Comfort (30%)
Durability (10%)

Other scores don’t count towards the overall score.

For our test, we get 5 expert testers to wear each pair of headphones for an extended period while listening to a range of content from various audio sources. Each set’s sound quality was also tested using a reference ear, a device with an acoustic input impedance resembling that of an average human ear. This was also done for noise-cancelling if applicable. The scores from the testers and reference ear are then averaged into the final sound quality score.

The same 5 testers allocate the comfort score. Finding the headphone type that’s most comfortable for you can take time, because everyone’s ears are different. Earbuds often come with different-sized rubber nibs to help fit into your ear. Over-ear headphones tend to be bigger and heavier, so you may need to adjust the headband to get the fit right.